This Week's Plan and a Weekend Recap

Hey everyone!

How was your weekend?  Mine was pretty nice I must say!  :)

Friday was full of family time!  It started with a Kindergarten picnic for Faith.  I just love working at my girl's school and knowing I can see them or get hugs any time I want.

 Later that night, we celebrated Mom's birthday.  My newly married sis made the main dish and although I only had a small taste (gotta stay on track and I knew a cheat meal was destined for the weekend) it was delicious.  The other sis brought salad and bread and I of course made the dessert.  I think she enjoyed the yummy strawberry cake!  I must say she is one of the hottest moms I know. ;)   Happy Birthday Mom!  Love You!

Opening gifts with all the grandgirls

We didn't have candles, so we used a tea light  ;)

My beautiful sister (and chef) and mom

On Saturday I slept in somewhat (does laying in bed count?) until 10.  I then got dressed and headed to a crawfish boil with Mezzy.   It was a beautiful day and felt really nice to sit around and relax.  The crawfish were yummy too!  And of course, Starbucks on the way home.

Green Tea Latte, No Syrup, With Soy (Please get  Coconut Milk Starbucks!)

Sunday was such a beautiful day and I vowed to spend as much time outside as I could.  So off to the zoo it was and patio sipping (with chips and salsa of course) happened.  Remember that cheat meal I told ya'll was coming, well it happened! 

The day couldn't of ended any better then with a stop at my favorite yogurt place.  I love how pink and girly my fro-yo looks!  Underneath all of that was some spiced chai and coconut yogurt.

Mine is on the left!

This Week's Meal Plan and Fitness Schedule:

"I Work Out!" (hehe)

Monday:  Jog (Done 3 miles, BAM!)
Tuesday:  Full Body Circuits and Yoga in the Park
Wednesday:  Jog and Arm Day #1 (shoulders, chest, and triceps)
Thursday:  Full Body Circuits
Friday:  Jog
Saturday:  Arm Day #2 (back and biceps), Booty, and Abs
Sunday:  Rest

As for meals, I just plan out a few things I want to cook when making my grocery list and then decide that morning or night before what I'm going to make.  So here are our meal ideas:

Homemade Pizza (I'll share what I do with all of you, it's super easy and yummy) and Green Salad
Shrimp & Chicken Fajitas
Baked Tilapia and Roasted Green Beans and Red Potatoes
Chicken, Bell Pepper, and Zucchini Kabobs

I also plan on dehydrating some zucchini chips ala Fitnessista style!

This will be enough food for the girls and I to have leftovers for lunch and nights I don' t cook. 

I hope you all had a beautiful weekend!

What are your meal ideas or fitness plans this week?

Much Love,

~Ash

Friday Faves

Hey Guys, 

I just wanted to pop in today and do a little "Friday Fave" post.  I am thinking this may become a regular thing.  I know I enjoy reading these kinds of post on some of my other favorite blogs.  It gives me insight to new stuff (that I probably don't really need) and I like that.  So, here it goes! 

Things I am loving at the moment:

Quest Bars!  Ya'll if you haven't tried them, you have to.  At the moment these are my favorite, but only because I can't seem to get my hands on the cookie dough flavor. Low calories, low sugar, and lots of protein.  Winner Winner Chicken Dinner :)

I order mine from iherb!

I recently purchased this new eye cream and face cleanser and LOVE it.  The cleanser works great with my Clarisonic and I love the creaminess of the eye cream.  Let's hope they are both miracle workers.  ;)

Hoping my body is bikini ready for this summer (and even if it's not I'm still gonna wear it) because I have my eyes on this one!  It's from Etsy and I am a little leery to order a swimsuit online, but I can't find anything like this in stores near me.  You all know how much I love my pin-up stuff, so I am thinking I'll have to take the gamble and order it online.  I'll let you know when I do and how it goes.

A new to me website, Poshmark!  I am really digging this online shopping thing apparently.  I may have searched "Betsey Johnson" and spent hours looking at all the stuff I wanted.  Didn't buy anything yet, but I am sure that will change soon.

I am reading a new book series called, "The Mortal Instruments" and I am captivated.  I know there is a movie coming out in August for the first book, so I am pretty excited about that.

My two girls, Grace and Faith, decided they need hair-cuts this past week.  Grace decided she wanted to cut her hair and donate it to Locks of Love.  She decided to do it all on her own, and as her mom I must admit I was pretty proud and in awe of her sweet little heart.  Faith cut her hair too, but it wasn't quite long enough to get the 10 inches needed for donating.  Regardless they both look adorable and we are trying to adjust to fixing short hair in the mornings.  It is definitely a learning process for me!

Have a great weekend everyone!  I am planning to stop in on Sunday and share my meal plan and fitness agenda for the week.  

What are some of your favorite things at the moment?

Much Love, 

~Ash

Figuring Out What Works For Me

Well hello bloggie friends ;)

Yes, we all know I officially suck at blogging and don’t do it nearly as often as I should!  But, to be honest, it’s my blog and I kinda like it that way.  It’s something I do for fun and if I don’t have anything to say, or if I feel pressured to blog EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. then what fun is that?

So, I have spent this past month, (since this last blogpost), trying out some new “diet” things and attempting to listen to my body and fuel it the best way I know how.

I read a lot, mostly fiction and health/fitness stuff.  So my attention was piqued when I ran across a website called Whole 9.  After scouring through and reading about it I realized they had a book called "It Starts With Food" which of course I bought and read cover to cover in like a day. 

In a gist, here is what they preach:

"It is 30 days of eating “the good stuff”  – proteins, vegetables, limited fruit and fats. It’s a serious program with no room for cheat days, or even cheat spoonfuls. There are no grains, legumes, sugar (natural or synthetic), alcohol, dairy or processed foods allowed."

Summary provided by Sara @ House Bella

So I gave it a shot, for about two weeks (didn’t do the Whole 30) and vowed not to have ANY sugar and increase my consumption of fats.  I upped my healthy fat intake by incorporating avocados, coconut oil/butter, EVOO, or nuts into each meal.  I have to admit I was pretty scared to do it.  I mean that seems like a lot of fat and calories and I was freaked it was going to cause me to gain weight. 

For the most part I stuck with it.  I did have a couple of beers one night when I went out with Mezzy (names changed to protect the innocent, of course) and then the next weekend I had sushi again with the aforementioned guy.  It was his fault and he pretty much twisted my arm and told me I had to.  I mean who has to be told twice to eat sushi? (Moral of the story – Nobody is perfect!)

At the end of my two week, sort of Whole 30 experience, here is what I learned:

>Incorporating healthy fats into your diet will NOT cause weight gain

>The opposite actually happened, I dropped about 5 pounds (even with the beer and sushi)

>I became more mindful of my sugar intake and have vowed to carry this over into my “lifestyle” of   healthy eating

>I am also more mindful of my fruit/carb consumption after lunch, I am not saying I’ll never have them after lunch, I just want to be more conscientious of it

>I already knew this, but it just affirmed it for me, I freaking love avocados and coconut

>Having some form of protein at every meal and snack is super important (I wan’t so good at that before this)

>I really missed my protein powder (I use either Vega or Sun Warrior) and green smoothies

>I didn't miss bread nearly as much as I thought I would

Although I don’t plan on following a Whole 30 lifestyle exclusively I am excited to incorporate some of the things it suggests into my everyday eats. 

I think it is so important for each of us to experiment with different ways of eating so that we are successful and not only feel comfortable with our way of eating, but excited about it to.

No one way of eating is perfect for everyone.  I HATE counting calories with a passion, but I know several people who are very successful doing so.  We have to listen to our bodies and incorporate what works best for us. 

Your turn :)

Have you ever tried Whole 30? What did you think?

How would you describe your “lifestyle” eating?

Much love,

~Ash